Production, transportation and storage of highly waxy crude oil is very challenging. This is because they are usually characterised by high content of macro-crystalline waxes, predominantly consisting of n-alkanes (C18 to C36) that which could cause costly deposition within the wellbore and production equipment. The accumulation of deposited wax can decrease oil production rates, cause equipment breakdown, and clog the transport and storage facilities. Currently, different polymeric inhibitors have been utilised in the oil and gas field to mitigate and prevent wax deposition. However, as of today, there is no distinctive wax inhibitor that could work effectively for all oil fields. One of the objectives of this work is to study the efficacy of a blended commercial wax inhibitor - pour point depressant on wax deposition mitigation in a flow rig designed with 0 and 45-degree bends in the pipeline.

Standard laboratory techniques using high-temperature gas chromatography (HTGC), rheometer rig, polarized microscope and elution chromatography were employed to obtain n-paraffin distribution, oil viscosity, WAT, pour point and SARA fractions. Series of experimentation were carried out with and without the inhibitor in a straight pipe test section. The severity of wax deposition in the pipeline built-in with a 45-degree bend is compared with a straight pipe. The blended inhibitor was tested at concentrations of 500, 1000, and 1500-ppm, under laminar and turbulent conditions. The crude oil sample was found to be naturally waxy with wax content of 19.75wt%, n-paraffin distributions ranges from C15-C74, WAT and pour point of 30°C and 25°C respectively. The severity of wax deposition in the test section is 43% higher in 45-degree bend compared to straight pipe. However, the severity of the deposition was reduced to 12.3% at extremely low temperature and flow rate. Nonetheless, better inhibition performance was achieved at 25 and 30°C. The wax thickness was reduced from δwax ≈ 0.36mm at 5 l/min to δwax ≈ 0.132mm at 7 l/min at constant coolant temperature (25°C) and 1500-ppm, whereas, no wax deposition was observed at 11 l/min. Mechanisms such as molecular diffusion due to frictional pressure losses, shear dispersion and gravity settling due to momentum change and hydrostatic, alongside with thermal difference are the main drivers for wax deposition in both straight and bend pipe. Whereas, the interaction mechanisms such as the nucleation, alongside with adsorption, co-crystallization, and solubilisation between the new blended inhibitor and the wax crystals provide an improved inhibition performance in the system even at extreme cases.

In the upstream production systems, the external corrosion management typically does not affect the definition of the whole gathering network system design. However, its role is crucial for the integrity of any steel structure.

In High Pressure and High Temperature (HP/HT) reservoir applications, usually located in deepwaters offshore where the ambient temperatures are low (i.e. high temperature gradient between inside the pipelines and external environment), the selection of a specific external coating material might have significant impact on the design specification of the installed hardware, with special focus on the pipelines. In fact, depending on different physical properties of the external coating technologies, those may introduce stronger or weaker insulating capabilities and will modify the pipelines U Value, which describes the capacity of the pipelines to exchange heat with the external environment (and consequently the design specification of the production network).

A Case Study is here presented where impacts on the pipeline design specifications based on the selection of different external coating technologies have been described. In particular, it is here shown how the application of coating materials with lower insulating performance, e.g FBE coating, can increase the heat exchange between the hot production fluid and the cold external environment, leading to faster cooldown of production fluid.

In this case, reduction in operating fluid temperature has been used to prevent internal corrosion issues (generally linked to top of the line corrosion), however it may also be used as mitigation of HP/HT related issues, e.g. lateral buckling. Main pros and cons of FBE applied as a standalone external anticorrosion coating have been described in this paper.

Oil condition monitoring for rotating and reciprocating equipment has typically been laboratory based. A technician or engineer collects a sample of lubricating oil and sends this to a laboratory for chemical analysis. After the laboratory has performed the analysis the results are sent to the engineer to make decisions on the health and/or condition of the machinery. This process can take up to 6 weeks, and consequently analysis may end up being performed only quarterly with little likelihood of critical failures being pre-empted. The slowness of oil condition monitoring analyses performed in laboratories has led engineers to substitute for real-time monitoring methods such as vibration analysis and thermography. Nevertheless, the chemical composition of the lubricating oil remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of machine health. The automation of methods for analysing the chemical composition of lubricating oil in real-time would provide engineers with data on the immediate condition of a particular piece of machinery, allowing the early diagnosis of incipient faults.

In this paper, we present a microfluidic technique that can perform real-time continuous monitoring of the chemical composition of lubricating fluid from rotating and reciprocating equipment. Results from this technique both in laboratory and field environments are comparable to conventional laboratory measurements. The microfluidic technique exploits the flow of fluids within micrometre-dimensioned channel, permitting liquid-liquid diffusive separation between otherwise miscible non-aqueous fluids. It can be shown that several fluids e.g. methanol, hexane etc. can selectively extract target components in lubricating oil. Following an extraction, these components can be quantified using a combination of optical techniques, e.g. UV/Vis, Infrared etc. This microfluidic technique has been demonstrated for a range of lubricating oils with several acid, alkaline detergent, asphaltene/insoluble content. This technology can potentially revolutionise the way oil analysis is carried out, automating and making the process rapid and in real-time.

CIO Advisor APAC is published from the hub of technology, Silicon Valley, USA, with editorial presence in all major APAC countries. Our mission is to enable CIO's of medium to large enterprises based in APAC countries to leverage technology for their businesses. We aim to be the next generation Advisor to the CIOs and their teams in their new expanded roles. We curate unbiased content and industry opinions.We also offer a medium for seasoned CIOs and senior IT management executives in the APAC region to share their practical knowledge, experiences and wisdom with their peers in the APAC region to collectively uplift the ROI's that enterprises get from their technology spend. For over 20 years, F&L Asia has remained the preferred media choice for industry giants such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, SK Lubricants, S-Oil, Lubrizol, Infineum, Chevron Oronite, Afton Chemical, BASF, Evonik Industries, Tianhe Chemicals and many more.

Large gas reserves will require to be developed efficiently by implementing the latest technologies and best practices along the entire value chain. Field development plans are expected to be delivered to the highest standard to ensure newly explored gas resources deliver gas production to meet the self-sufficiency target. After successful exploration, an accelerated well delivery process will deliver the vast number of wells required. Identifying synergies between various projects and developments along various design stages will be key to accelerate gas production. State-of-the-art-technology in conjunction with leading project management principles, is expected to play a large role to meet the objectives set in the accelerated gas strategy.

The goal of this paper was to examine refinery workers’ personal exposure to benzene and 1,3-butadiene and increase awareness of exposure conditions by collaboration with involved refineries. Exposure to airborne agents needs to be assessed in the personal breathing zone by the use of personal measurement equipment. Specific measurement devices for assessing personal exposure to airborne nanomaterials have only become available in the recent years.

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